Shenelle Alexander, an undergraduate nursing student at Rutgers University-Camden, was named as the first winner of the $1,000 Cooper Civic Leadership Award at the Seventh Annual Chancellor’s Awards for Civic Engagement held April 26, 2018.

Cooper University Health Care established the Civic Leadership Award earlier this year to honor a Rutgers University-Camden student who exemplifies outstanding service to the Camden community.

“We are proud to honor Shenelle Alexander with the inaugural Cooper Civic Leadership Award,” said Anthony Welch, Cooper University Health Care’s vice president of government and community relations, who presented the award at the ceremony held on the Rutgers-Camden campus. “Shenelle embodies the spirit of Cooper’s mission to serve, to heal, to educate and is a role model among her peers. We believe that Shenelle’s story will encourage even more Rutgers students to serve the people of this great city.”

Alexander, who also serves as a resident assistant with the Office of Housing and Residence Life on the Rutgers-Camden campus, has been actively involved in service both on and off campus through volunteering for clean-ups at Petty’s Island, worked as a volunteer coordinator for JumpStart where she organized a Read Across America Celebration for Dr. Seuss, and served as a Civic Scholar who commits 300 hours of service in Camden. This past year, Alexander transitioned her passion for civic engagement to align with her professional skills and interest and began serving as a confidential sexual assault advocate with the Center for Family Services. She recently was selected as a nurse associate at Cooper University Hospital.

“Rutgers University-Camden is respected as a model for civically engaged universities in America,” says Nyeema Watson, associate chancellor for civic engagement at Rutgers-Camden. “While national recognition is gratifying, the impact that Rutgers is making upon the families and neighborhoods in Camden and across South Jersey is how we measure success. This annual award from Cooper will allow a Rutgers-Camden student to continue his or her work in our community, and will inspire other young people to become the next generation of civic leaders in South Jersey.”